CBIC Trivia 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following pathogens is most commonly associated with healthcare-associated pneumonia in ventilated patients?
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Klebsiella pneumoniae
- All of the above are common causes (Correct answer)
Correct answer: All of the above are common causes
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is polymicrobial and frequently caused by gram-negative rods such as Pseudomonas and Klebsiella as well as gram-positive S. aureus.
Question 2: The term 'sterilization' is best defined as:
- Reduction of microbial load to a safe level
- Destruction of all forms of microbial life including spores (Correct answer)
- Elimination of pathogenic microorganisms from inanimate surfaces
- Inhibition of microbial growth without killing organisms
Correct answer: Destruction of all forms of microbial life including spores
Sterilization destroys all forms of microbial life, including highly resistant bacterial endospores, unlike disinfection which may spare spores.
Question 3: In Spaulding's classification system, which category of medical devices requires sterilization before use?
- Noncritical items
- Semicritical items
- Critical items (Correct answer)
- Environmental surface items
Correct answer: Critical items
Critical items contact sterile tissue or the vascular system and carry the highest risk of infection; they must be sterilized.
Question 4: What is the minimum contact time required for most EPA-registered hospital disinfectants to achieve their labeled kill claim?
- 15 seconds
- 30 seconds
- The wet contact time listed on the product label (Correct answer)
- 10 minutes regardless of product
Correct answer: The wet contact time listed on the product label
The surface must remain visibly wet for the full contact time stated on the EPA-registered product label to ensure efficacy.
Question 5: Which bloodborne pathogen has the highest risk of transmission following a needlestick injury from an infected source patient?
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
- Hepatitis B virus (HBV) (Correct answer)
- Hepatitis D virus (HDV)
Correct answer: Hepatitis B virus (HBV)
HBV has the highest post-exposure transmission risk, estimated at 6–30% per needlestick from an HBeAg-positive source, compared to ~1.8% for HCV and ~0.3% for HIV.
Question 6: Which metric is used by NHSN to compare a facility's infection rate to a national benchmark, accounting for patient population differences?
- Incidence density ratio
- Standardized infection ratio (SIR) (Correct answer)
- Attack rate
- Case fatality rate
Correct answer: Standardized infection ratio (SIR)
The SIR compares the observed number of infections to the predicted number based on national baseline data, adjusting for patient risk factors.
Question 7: The WHO 'Five Moments for Hand Hygiene' includes all of the following EXCEPT:
- Before touching a patient
- After touching patient surroundings
- Before donning gloves (Correct answer)
- After body fluid exposure risk
Correct answer: Before donning gloves
The five WHO moments are: before patient contact, before aseptic task, after body fluid exposure, after patient contact, and after touching patient surroundings — donning gloves is not one of them.
CBIC Trivia 3
Which of the following pathogens is most commonly associated with healthcare-associated pneumonia in ventilated patients?